


Paper Houses

by Caramel_Popcorn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, M/M, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 14:33:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21017336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caramel_Popcorn/pseuds/Caramel_Popcorn
Summary: Our paper houses reached the stars - until we broke and scattered worlds apart. Why did we climb, and fall so far?She loved sunlight through stained glass and Christmas mornings. He loved explosions and the gleam of a polished broom.There was a war.But before the war, there was love.And before love, there was a great deal of bickering and broken plates.He loved thunderstorms and noisy machines. He loved dark chocolate and the feel of a well-read book.There was a war.But before the war, there was love.And before love there were pranks and a confusion of unrequited love.The story of Marauders - how they lived and loved and broke apart.





	Paper Houses

Sirius was breathing in the smoke, noise and bustle that was Platform Nine and Three Quarters when he saw Regulus. There was a faint bruise on his brother's cheek, and Sirius, experienced in such matters, could tell his right leg was hurt. He was alone.

There was a roaring in Sirius' ears. Almost instinctively, he took a step towards Regulus, stumbling slightly as their eyes met. Then someone shoved him, and Sirius ended up sprawled on the floor.

"Oi mate! What're you doing down there?" Shouted James, momentarily distracted from an animated Quidditch argument with his father. "And the Chudley Cannons ought to drop Maron Burneski, Dad, he has no loyalty! You can't play for the crowd in a semifinal, everyone knows that, it's common sense!"

Mrs. Potter, extricating herself from a gaggle of greatful first year muggle parents, hurried over to them. "Really, Sirius, it's barely been a minute since we reached. You're all dusty now, you really can't board the train like this," she continued under her breath as she tried to dust him off.

"You're going to be late boys," Mr Potter interrupted, trying to push his chaotic family towards the train. James was balancing on a levitating suitcase, trying to find the rest of the Marauders.

Mrs. Potter, having given up on getting Sirius clean again, was handing him a bottle of Sleekeasy gel. "Do try to slip some into his shampoo dear, especially before important occasions." James, having spotted the transaction, was shouting about conspiracy and betrayal from atop his suitcase.

"BOYS! TRAIN! NOW!" shouted Mr. Potter, levitating himself to slightly above James' height.

The boys grabbed the suitcases and ran.

"I handled that quite well, didn't I, Mia? Both of them listened to me!"

"Oh Potter, I'm sure they did. I do hope we don't get any more letters from Minerva this year." Mrs. Potter patted her husband's shoulder distractedly as she watched them run.

"Listen to Remus!" She shouted, both waving frantically as the train left the station.

With the train gone, the platform seemed smaller somehow, the colour faded. The rustle of leaves and the chug of the train in the distance were the only sounds. Mrs. Potter shivered suddenly, a short, jerky movement.  
"Two years left, Potter, and then they leave the nest. I wish there was a better world waiting for them."

Mr. Potter said nothing. They stayed there for a long moment, unmoving, until it felt like they were the only people on the enchanted platform, the only people in the whole world.

  
  
***

Remus had broader shoulders than he had had two months ago. How was that even possible?

Still reeling from his encounter at the platform, Sirius wondered at his ability to notice such things. Taking advantage of his befuddled state, James snatched the bottle of Sleekeasy and attempted to throw it out of the window.

Unfortunately, it hit Peter in the face instead.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? I haven't seen you lot in weeks and this is the -"

"Is something wrong?" James interrupted, looking at Sirius suspiciously.

Sirius paused and looked at him for a minute. Then, with a dramatic sigh, he flopped down - albeit gracefully - onto his seat and shook his head like a dog. "Nothing Prongs. Just a touch of Nargles; nothing I can't handle."

"Nargles?" Remus, having finished staring out the window and waving at his mother, looked up.

"Yeah, old Xeno told me about them last Christmas. Fascinating creatures really, they - oh, good one Pete!"

Peter, never one to hesitate to get even, had dumped the entire bottle of Sleekeasy over James' head.

"Bloody hell."

James stared sadly at the potion as it ran down his shirt.

Peter settled down in his seat by the window, grinning happily at the scene unfolding around him. Sirius, laughing wildly, looking half mad in the afternoon light. Remus, exasperated yet entertained, smirking at Sirius. James, comically pathetic, hunting for his wand and dripping milky gold potion everywhere.

_Someday, when we're old and bored, we'll talk about times like this._

He felt oddly nostalgic for the moment he was living, somehow wishing for it to last forever and knowing it wouldn't all at once.

The chocolate frog he unwrapped jumped from his hand and flew out the window.

***

Lily cuddled up to Adam and stared out the window. It had been around six months since they began dating, which was quite a long time, wasn't it? But she wasn't in love, this much she knew. Love was meant to be earthshaking, and it took time. It had only been six months.  
Plus, she liked Adam. She liked how tall he was and how he always smelled like vanilla ice cream, even when he had been away from his father's shop for months.

Adam rubbed her shoulder absentmindedly and nodded at Marlene, who had just walked in.

"Have you seen Mary? James wants to meet last year's Quidditch players before we reach Hogwarts. "

"He's the Captain then?" Adam asked vaguely. "Oh, of course he is. Silly question, sorry."

Adam, a Hufflepuff, had never had much interest in Quidditch. He and Lily had spent many an enjoyable afternoon indoors while Quidditch matches raged outside.  
Lily turned around and curled up like a cat. "She isn't here, Marlene. Where are all the girls anyway?"

"They're in the next compartment." Marlene winked. "We thought it was best to give you two some alone time."

Adam stood up and stretched. "Well, I think I should probably check in on the boys then. They're in the last compartment. I'll see you after the feast Lils?"

Lily slowly unfurled herself, slightly disgruntled about having to get up. "Of course." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and the two headed in opposite directions, while Marlene continued on with her search for Mary.

She walked into the neighboring cabin and was greeted with a chorus of hellos. In the corner sat Dorcas Meadows, already changed into school robes. Her curly blond hair was cropped as short as usual, and there was a Tricks of Transfiguration lying unread on her lap.  
On the other side, Charity Silverstein and Alice Burbage were playing poker with chocolate frog cards as chips.

"With Adam, Lily?" Alice's long, dark hair was everywhere. A few stray sparks from a nearby explosion nearly set aforementioned hair on fire, and she hastily batted it out.

"Yes, in the next compartment. Where's Frank?" Lily asked, setting down into her seat.

"His 'educational trip' with his mum got delayed, so they're apparating to Hogsmead and they'll meet us there."

"Never mind that, how was the prefect meeting?" Charity waved her wand and sent the cards back into their box.

"It was alright. Narcissa was snooty as ever, but with Pranav as Head Boy, they balance out well."

The conversation moved on to other things, but Lily's mind lingered on the Prefect meeting.

She had showed up to the Prefects Cabin with Remus, nervous and excited and ever so slightly jumpy. Inside, the conversation was mundane and awkward. The rumours that had been making the rounds - some even published in the Daily Prophet - about pureblood supremacists and taking stands had set everyone on an edge. She found herself counting the number of muggleborns in the room - three, including herself. She had never done this before.

At the end of the meeting, Pranav looked nervous. "Everyone, Dumbledore gave me a message. There are people out there, as I've sure you've heard, who think Muggleborns shouldn't be given the same rights as the rest of us.

Now, Dumbledore thinks that's ridiculous, and so do I. He believes that some of these people might try to recruit Hogwarts students towards their cause.

We need to prevent this from happening, so if anyone comes across any information, hand it in to Dumbledore directly.

We're the ones in charge of the rest of students here. We have to set an example. I don't want anyone here talking about supporting them. Am I clear?"

Everyone murmured agreement, but Narcissa looked furious. Pranav had clearly not mentioned Dumbledore's message to her beforehand. Lily felt a surge of pity for Pranav - Narcissa would be sure to make his life hell.

As they walked out, Remus leaned towards her. "Pranav will keep her in line. He can hold his own - his stinging jinxes are bloody brilliant."

"Somehow, I don't think Narcissa will be going after him with 4th year jinxes," Lily murmured as they walked down the train.

Remus shrugged and stopped at a cabin door. Inside, they could hear Sirius and Peter in the middle of an animated argument. Several things were in the process of breaking.

"That's true, but a couple of jinxes in hand can never make things worse."

"I think the other Marauders have rubbed off on you," Lily laughed. She heard a faint_ Is that Evans?_ from inside and started walking away.

"Lily."

She turned around, raised her eyebrows.

"I've always been like them. I'm just better at hiding it."

"You say that like it's a good thing."

"I do."

***

Lily and Charity were waiting by the carriages. Mary and Alice had gone looking for the other two witches in their dorm.

"I don't understand why we can't just get into any random carriage," Lily grumbled, leaning against the wheels of their pale violet carriage. "I mean, it's not like we're going to be living with each other for the whole year or anything."  
The moon was a sliver in the sky, but the stars were bright, and the wind cold. Hogwarts had an air of dramatism about it, like living in a dream, or a movie.

"This is the second last time we'll ever ride in these things." Charity's voice was soft amidst the chaos in the station. "That means something, doesn't it?"

Lily huffed slightly, but said nothing. 

"I can't see the Thestrals," Charity said abruptly. "I interned at St. Mungos this summer, so I thought I would, but I can't."

"Maybe the death you witness has to mean something to you." Lily's father had died two summers ago, and she had seen the Thestrals ever since. She hated them, and hated herself for hating them, because it wasn't their fault.

Suddenly the carriage turned, and Lily fell backwards with a yell of surprise.

She never hit the ground.

Instead, she found herself staring up at James' smirking face.

"Hogsmeade with me this weekend, Evans?"

James said the words almost reflexively, a product of five years conditioning. His long held crush on Evans had died a natural death somewhere around the middle of fifth year, but he kept asking her out. It was mostly out of habit, mixed with a tinge of nostalgia - life was simpler when the only thing he could see was Lily Evans.

"Dream on, Potter." Lily scrambled to her feet. She laughed. "We're both dating different people. What would Vienne say?"

"Vienne would understand that true love must run its course. In fact, I inform all my dates that I will be breaking up with them once you agree to go out with me," James said with an exaggerated flourish.

Lily leaned back against the carriage and smirked at him. "I inform all my dates that the funny looking boy following us around is harmless after a few well placed hexes."

"Not fair, Evans. I stopped doing that after Igor Mulciber in fourth year."

One of Lily's friends - Charity? - nudged her, and suddenly there were a large number of girls surrounding the carriage. In seconds, it felt, they were gone. Lily's muffled goodbye still lingered on the wind. _Her hair shines like wildfire in witchlight_ James thought idlely before he too was shoved into a carriage with his friends.

***

  
_Let's run away and go see India. We can see the Forest of Phoenixes, fly on carpets, drink Firewhiskey._

He remembered Regulus whispering the words under the blankets. Before the Sorting, and everything that had followed.  
He should have realized that once he ran away, his parents would use Regulus as their punching bag. He wondered whether if Regulus had known, when he told Sirius he wanted to stay.

Sirius tugged at the ends of his hair in frustration. He wished he could bend the world the way he wanted through force of will alone. He would have new parents, parents like the Potters, and Regulus would be in Gryffindor, and nothing would go wrong or separate the two of them. Nobody would need to get hurt.

A small voice inside him whispered_ the Sorting Hat lets you choose._ Regulus made his own choices.

Sirius kicked his bed so hard it hurt, then used the pain to shove Regulus out of his mind.

When James walked into their dorm, Sirius was kicking his bed, his face dark.

Sirius had three moods.

The first one was Padfoot, bright and gold and red, all messy paws and loyalty and exuberance.

The second was a straight spine and harsh cruelty, revenge and intense loyalty, eyes cold like a viper waiting to strike. Sirius could make you feel like less than dirt if he wanted to. He would sacrifice a million lives to save someone he loved, and then he'd do it a hundred times over.

The third was like a thunderstorm, violent laughter and twisted logic, the smirk on his face more like a scar than a smile. The Black Madness, James called it, though he had never told Sirius this.

It was the third mood James feared, the reason why he stayed up at night thinking of ways to save Sirius from himself.

Sirius turned to him, and the pain on his face seemed to melt away.

"Prongs!"

"Remus and Peter are coming up in a minute. They both wanted more dessert."

"Mmh." Sirius leaned back on his bed. "Want to tell me something, Prongs?"

James sighed and sat down on Sirius' bed as well. "I don't know why I did it, so don't bother."  
He yawned wide. "I don't even want Vienne back, I just...didn't want to contradict her, I guess?"

Sirius tugged on his hair. "Well, she'll find out soon enough, won't she? It's not a secret you guys broke up." He paused, looking at James warily. "You don't fancy Lily again do you?"

"No!"

"Good, because I don't want to go through that again. Merlin, Prongs, do you remember how you charmed her quills to only write your name?"

A pillow flew at Sirius' head, but James was laughing. "Why on Earth did I think that was a good idea?"

"Because you, James, are unconditionally and irrevocably an idiot."

Sobering slightly, James said, "When Pete and Remus come up, we'll tell them our...plan."  
Sirius, thunderstorms again, was staring moodily out of the window. James was used to Sirius switching moods like card tricks, but this time he felt like he understood.

They weren't planning pranks anymore. This was real, no matter how much he wished it wasn't.

***

Remus was feeling decidedly content. He had just eaten a good meal (he looked forward to the Hogwarts feasts all year), the first years didn't cause any trouble when he led them to their dorms, and the full moon was almost twenty days away. He plodded up the stairs with Peter, trying to decide which book to read before he went to bed.

When he walked into his dorm, however, he groaned. Prongs and Padfoot were sitting on the bed with a look on their faces. It meant a big, possibly dangerous prank was coming, and it was up to Remus to make sure they didn't get caught.

The second the door was closed, Sirius turned into Padfoot, and a big, oversized puppy was in Remus' arms. Padfoot had grown bigger since they had last met - his legs looked far too long for his body now. Finally, after a great deal of licking and belly rubs, the four of them were settled on Remus' bed with food and drinks, the only way to start a Marauders meeting.

"So who are we after this time? I think we should give Dumbledore another shot, we only have another two years to get him." Peter tore open the packet of Bertie Botts beans and sorted through them as he spoke.

"We're not planning a prank," James said awkwardly, pushing his glasses higher up on his nose.

"Right," Sirius said, sitting up and looking rather solemn for once. "You know how that bloke Lord Voldytort or whatever has been riling all the purebloods up and adding to their ginormous ego?"

"Voldemort." Remus corrected. "And of course we know about him. What about it?"

Sirius and James looked each other. "Well, Mum and Dad reckon he isn't going to go away anytime soon." Here, James paused again.

"Essentially, they think there's going to be a war. And Prongs and I have decided we want to fight." Sirius glared at Remus defiantly, daring him to argue. He had never looked more beautiful, thought Remus, all sharp lines and coiled anger.

"You want to fight in a war that hasn't happened yet. Against some pureblood fanatic. While we're in school."

"_My parents_ think the war is coming -"

"Who do you think fight in wars, Remus?" Sirius said loudly. "You listen in History. Who fought in World War II? Who fought Grindlewald? People fresh out of school! And even if we don't fight, do you think they'll just ignore us? We're in this war whether we want to or not - it's just a matter of which side we fight on, and how long we survive!"

Sirius paused, breathing hard. He continued, somewhat subdued. "I don't know about you, but I don't fancy dying young."

Remus stared at him, his mouth slightly open. There were words in his head, spinning around like little hurricanes, but he couldn't string a sentence together if he tried. He felt slightly faint. He needed time to process this.

It was Peter who broke the silence. "I'm in."

Remus sighed. There was nothing he wouldn't do for his friends, he had always known that. It was far harder to accept that they would do the same for him. But he was used to doing hard things.

"You're right, Sirius. If there's a war, there's no point running from it. We might as well meet it prepared."

Sirius smiled, and it felt like sunrise.

"Brilliant."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy guys please review/tell me what you think! I've got big plans for this fic - I know how short this is but it's going somewhere I swear.

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning lines in the summary. are from a song by Niall Horan.


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